Penguin Sledding
by JessieLightyear
Summary: "This might sound strange but, would you like to go penguin sledding with me?" He asked. Asami laughed. "I'm sorry, penguin sledding?"


**I don't own Legend of Korra. I'm simply borrowing Mike and Bryan's toys. I promise to give them back**

**Big thank you to Crystal Wing of Fragile String for betaing this. You should really check out her stories too :D **

Asami Sato wasn't going to cry.

If she didn't cry when she had to betray her father, she surely wouldn't cry over some boy.

Asami wasn't going to… dammit! She pushed back a tear. It had been one hell of a month. She took a few deep breaths and looked out the door. There was a party going on, a party for Korra and her accomplishments, a party for the success of their mission, a party for the return of bender's gifts.

A party that she wasn't going to attend, she couldn't in this state at least. She was Asami Sato and no one saw her cry. She was sitting atop the railing on the balcony alone in the cold. The cold didn't really bother her, not as much as she would have expected anyway. She was considering trying to find a way to sneak back to her room without crossing the main room when she heard someone open the door behind her. She sighed and began to discreetly wipe away stray tears.

"Shouldn't you be at the party?" Asami asked without turning to look behind her.

"It's not my kind of party." He said simply. She recognized the voice as that of General Iroh, "What about you?" She shrugged.

"Not my kind either I guess." She replied finally.

"I see." He said moving so he was leaning against one of the poles. They sat there in silence for a moment.

"So, what is your kind of party?" She asked.

"Never been a party kind of guy. I've had to go to quite a few between my position as Fire Nation Prince and my place in the United Forces. I don't find them all that amusing and quite frankly I don't like the attention."

"I know what you mean." She said. There was a few more seconds of silence. "For what it's worth, you did an amazing job back in the city." He shrugged.

"I did what any of my men would do; I don't think I'm anything that special." Asami smiled. Modesty, it was a quality found in few men.

"Is this your first time in the South Pole?" She asked.

"No, my grandfather and I used to come from time to time to see Master Katara, especially after Avatar Aang's death."

"Really? That must have been exciting."

"It was quite fun at times, a very different environment than the Fire Palace." The two of them sat there in silence for a moment.

"It's very different than Republic City too."

"This might sound strange but, would you like to go penguin sledding with me?" He asked. Asami laughed.

"I'm sorry, penguin sledding?" She asked, "Aren't we a little old for that? And a little too big?"

"Not really, true it might take a little more searching for penguins than the little kids, but we can find some." Asami laughed again.

"Well, why not?" She said. Iroh grinned and stood up then offered her his hand. She took it and stood up with him. "I've never been before." She admitted.

"I'll teach you, don't worry." He promised. Iroh lead her around the back, avoiding the party entirely, to where a group of penguins was resting. There were a few still up and about waddling around. "Alright are you ready to learn?" Iroh asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Now listen closely my young pupil. Catching penguins for penguin sledding is an ancient and sacred art." Asami had to laugh at that then quickly covered her mouth. He seemed so serious. "Avatar Aang said that to me right before I first learned how to penguin sled, I laughed too." He assured her.

Asami was a quick study, but it took her a few times before she could really do it well. Soon though, she was gliding down the ice alongside the general. The two spent a lot of the time laughing with each other. She laughed at the sight of the General covered in snow and ice and he laughed as she fell off her penguin in mid-run (she was good, but not an expert yet). At first Asami brushed off the laughter at her mistakes, after all she was just beginning, but after a half hour or so she was getting fairly decent at it, except for the fact that she couldn't get off the penguin with any grace.

"You could stop laughing at me now." She said brushing off the snow from her jacket.

"It's instinct by now." He said. Asami glared then smiled. As Iroh started climbing back up to the top of the hill; Asami quietly bent down and gathered up the snow in her hands. She stood up, bit back a smile, and threw a snow ball at the General's back. As it hit him square in the back, she started laughing. He turned around stunned and that just made Asami laugh harder.

"Are you sure you want to start this?" He asked solemnly while brushing the snow off his back.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone that the great General Iroh was scared to engage in a snowball battle." Iroh smirked and leaned down and gather up snow himself.

"You've been warned, Miss Sato. This means war."

They abandoned the penguins (a moment which the penguins were glad for, they were ready to get some sleep) and began an epic battle in the snow. Iroh had many advantages: he had military training, the high ground, and a variety of strategy to draw from, but Asami was not out of the fight yet. Her self-defense classes made her quite agile and hard to hit and she could fire off three snowballs in a matter of moments. In the end, the battle ended with both of them doubled over laughing and trying to catch their breath. Asami looked up and saw the lights were almost completely out back at the party. It was later than either of them realized.

"We really should be heading back." She said pointing to the almost dark party room.

"I suppose you're right. May I walk you back to your room?"

"I'd like that." She said smiling. The General took her hand and started toward her room. It was a quiet walk; neither felt they really needed words in this moment. When they got back to her room Asami turned to face the General.

"Thank you for tonight, it was a lot of fun. It was kind of exactly what I needed."

"I had fun too." he replied with a smile.

"So, where are you going to next?" Asami asked.

"My fleet has been stationed outside of Republic City to offer aide to the Avatar as she needs it and help with any reconstruction." he told her.

"Oh, that's nice." she said.

"Are you going back to Republic City?"

"Yes, I'll be taking over my father's company and, of course, helping Korra with whatever she needs."

"Perhaps we could join each other for a night of fun, assuming one of us needs it again."

"I'd like that."

"Good. Well, good night Miss Sato."

"Asami, please call me Asami." He smiled at her. "And a good night to you also General Iroh."

"Perhaps just Iroh for nights like this." He suggested.

"Well then, good night Iroh." Taking a leap of faith, Asami leaned forward and placed a shy kiss against Iroh's cheek. "And thank you again for tonight." She slipped back into her room and leaned up against the door.

Asami Sato wasn't going to blush.

She wouldn't blush; she wasn't some naïve school girl that blushed after a first date (if this even was a date).

Asami wasn't going to… dammit!


End file.
